Date posted on DIARY directory: Thursday 23rd July 2026
Influencer marketing platform Lefty has published its social media wrap-up for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, revealing that 72 brands tracked across tech, sportswear, food & beverage, beauty and more generated a combined $278 million in Earned Media Value (EMV) across the tournament. Spain were crowned the winning team after six weeks of competition, with the Final alone generating $104m in EMV and 1.04 billion impressions.
Top brand partnerships by EMV:
| Rank | Brand | EMV | Footballer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OpenAI (ChatGPT) | $80.9M | Lionel Messi |
| 2 | Nike | $36.3M | Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland |
| 3 | Adidas | $23.1M | Jude Bellingham, Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah, Pedri |
| 4 | Puma | $14.7M | Neymar Jr |
| 5 | Red Bull | $9.9M | Endrick, Neymar Jr |
| 6 | Gillette | $7.9M | Endrick, Raphinha |
| 7 | eFootball (Konami) | $5.5M | Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr |
| 8 | Blaze (Betting) | $4.3M | Neymar Jr |
| 9 | McDonald's | $3.9M | Lamine Yamal, Son Heung-min, Vitinha |
| 10 | Vodafone Egypt | $3.6M | Mohamed Salah |
| 11 | Mastercard | $3.6M | Lionel Messi |
| 12 | Puma x KidSuper | $3.6M | Neymar Jr |
| 13 | Apple (AirPods) | $3.4M | Vinícius Jr |
| 14 | Duracell | $3.3M | Lionel Messi |
| 15 | Pokémon | $3.2M | Lamine Yamal |
Top 20 players by EMV:
| Player | EMV | In-Campaign ER | Avg ER |
|---|---|---|---|
| @neymarjr | $492.6M | 7.5% | 5.8% |
| @cristiano | $420.6M | 3.5% | 1.8% |
| @leomessi | $413.0M | 3.8% | 2.2% |
| @erling | $363.1M | 20% | 7.3% |
| @julianquinones33 | $235.8M | 181% | 57.9% |
| @lamineyamal | $226.9M | 13.4% | 9.4% |
| @judebellingham | $182.7M | 1,643.3% | 4.9% |
| @k.mbappe | $133.6M | 3% | 2.9% |
| @vinijr | $124.1M | 6% | 4.2% |
| @yosoy8a | $95.0M | 5,493.3% | 7.4% |
| @juliaanalvarez | $59.5M | 12.4% | 11% |
| @gil_morita | $59.4M | 50.8% | 45% |
| @lisandromartinez | $55.2M | 12.2% | 7.6% |
| @endrick | $51.4M | 20.6% | 9.8% |
| @enzojfernandez | $50.8M | 10.1% | 6.9% |
| @leoparedes20 | $46.7M | 17.6% | 6.5% |
| @achrafhakimi | $43.8M | 7.1% | 6.2% |
| @m.olise | $43.6M | 68.5% | 38.1% |
| @emi_martinez26 | $43.0M | 1,859.2% | 5.2% |
| @pablogavi | $40.1M | 6.2% | 6.3% |
Top 10 players by follower growth:
| Player | IG Followers | Follower Growth (+) | Follower Growth (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| @erling | 70.1M | 29.6M | 42.3% |
| @Vozinha1 | 29.2M | 29.2M | 99.9% |
| @cristiano | 676.9M | 11.6M | 1.7% |
| @judebellingham | 49.9M | 8.7M | 17.5% |
| @neymarjr | 242.1M | 8.4M | 3.5% |
| @leomessi | 513.1M | 6.9M | 1.3% |
| @lamineyamal | 49.2M | 6.1M | 12.3% |
| @endrick | 23.9M | 6M | 25.2% |
| @timpayne__ | 5.8M | 5.8M | 99.9% |
| @k.mbappe | 135.3M | 4.9M | 3.6% |
Key insights:
- OpenAI generated more EMV than Nike, Adidas and Puma combined - a single Instagram post featuring Lionel Messi promoting ChatGPT’s image generation tool generated $80.9m in EMV, making it the single top-performing campaign of the tournament across every category.
- Beauty and wellness generated $10.6m in EMV, largely driven by Gillette and L’Oréal Men Expert, both through single-market activations rather than global rollouts. Men’s beauty and wellness represent a significant white-space opportunity, with male consumers more likely than women to increase spend in the category.
- Onside, a new men’s personal care brand backed by NBA All-Star Jayson Tatum, partnered with Jude Bellingham around the tournament, generating $1.9m in EMV - demonstrating the opportunity for emerging brands to enter the men’s beauty space through sport.
- Erling Haaland gained 29.6 million Instagram followers during the tournament - a 42.3% increase - driven by his off-pitch personality and Gen Z appeal as much as his seven tournament goals.
- The halftime show generated $50.5m in EMV, accounting for nearly half the Final’s total social value. IShowSpeed was the most impactful performer; his track ‘Champions’ went viral and was added to the tournament’s official album by FIFA before he performed it at the closing ceremony.
- Argentina’s players were the most visible team on social media, collectively generating $872m in EMV across the tournament.
For more information, visit lefty.io.
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